GBNaru: Lullaby
by kiotsukatanna
Summary: /GBNaru Universe\ "Memories hide within the notes."
1. Kishi's POV

A/N: This is based off of my Gender Bender Naruto Series that can be found on DeviantArt. (I also go by kiotsukatanna there and there is a link in my profile.) So, if you don't glance over there, you might be confused, but you might not. It's up to you to decide if you'd like to try and read it or not...

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**Lullaby (Kishi's POV)**

Summary: _Even the "Bloody Mist" can have its lullabies..._

Words: 831

Characters: Kishi (FemKisame), Ichiko (FemItachi)

Warnings: None (Unless you don't like Gender Bending, then you can leave if you wish.)

Pairings: None (Lol. I may like KisaIta, but not in my GBNaru.)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Original Naruto characters. They belong to Kishimoto, but this GBNaru series is mine. You take it, I hurt you. That is all. (And the lullaby is mine! *grins* I made it up.)

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Large golden eyes in a sea of black gazed at the ceiling, wide and unblinking. A small blue chest heaved up and down as its owner gasped for breath, sweat beaded on chubby cheeks and a small brow. The tiny girl shivered and pushed herself up, sniffling as she scrubbed at the tears that wet her eyes and clung to her lashes.

The scent of the ocean drifted through the girl's open window and she inhaled deeply. The waves crashed upon the beach in the distance – which did little to comfort her – and the girl sniffed once more, glancing about the darkened room. The emptiness brought her dream – Better yet, her nightmare – back into mind and she shivered again, clutching her knees. Tears gathered in her large child's eyes once more and she hiccupped, burying her face in her hands.

Shoulders shaking as she bit back her terrified sobs, the tiny girl jumped as a large hand set itself gently on her head. She instantly relaxed on recognizing the touch and tilted her face to stare up into the eyes of her father.

"What's wrong, Kishi-chan?" her Papa questioned. He didn't bother with useless questions like "Are you alright?" Why ask something he already knew the answer to?

The tiny Kishi hiccupped again, cheeks wet and lips trembling and, rather than answer the older man's query, climbed into his lap instead.

To any onlooker, the sight might've been considered comical. Though the dark-haired Hoshigaki was only 5'9", he greatly dwarfed his daughter's small, toddler size, and his large hand almost completely covered the back of her head. Even so, there was no one there to observe the scene and the child simply placed her head against her father's chest. His heartbeat pounded in her ear and, thankfully, drowned out the crashing waves.

Her eyes closed and she inhaled once more, pleased by his scent which was Papa's alone and the strong arms that kept her safe.

"Sing to me, Papa," she muttered, sniffling again. "I can't sleep..."

The older man's face softened – a strange change to his seemingly fierce features – as he cradled his daughter's tiny form. Placing his chin upon her blue hair, so much like the ocean she both feared and loved, he rocked his body back and forth, throat vibrating with a song from his childhood and now that of his daughter's.

"_The sea, the sea reaches out to the sky,_

_But water can't reach for the sky is too high,_

_The birds laugh down at the fish below,_

_And each how draws on far too slow..._

_The sea, the sea reaches out to the land,_

_The water creeps up on the lonely sand,_

_The land creatures laugh and dismiss with a wave,_

_And the water returns like a weary slave..._

_(The water returns like a weary slave...)_

_The sea, the sea is forever alone,_

_Trapped and bound in its watery home,_

_Through air it sprays, but the sky it can't touch,_

_Upon sand it crashes, but land it can't touch,_

_The waves, they churn and the wait is too much,_

_For only through rain can sea reach either,_

_For only through rain can sea reach either..._

_...For only through __**tears**__ can sea... reach __**either**__..."_

oxoxo

"...What is that song?"

Kishi slid open her eyes to glance at her newest partner.

The dark-haired child stared at her silently, eyes blank and face bare of any emotion, a mask more suited for a well-versed killer than a 13 year old girl, though the teen was in fact both.

The thought almost made Kishi sad.

The girl was so young, her face still softened by baby fat and her dark orbs unbearably large on her impassive visage. Barely in adolescence and she'd already seen more death in one night than many shinobi saw in a year. Really, it almost tugged at whatever heart strings Kishi had left...

Almost, that was.

The older woman grinned at the petite girl, her junior by nearly 7 years and still a better shinobi than herself. "It's a lullaby from back in Kiri. I heard it often as a little girl."

The Uchiha's expression altered ever so slightly, but the two had not been partnered long enough for the shark-like woman to tell. The teen turned her eyes away to instead return to the book her hands, which she had been reading mere moments before.

"So, even rogue nin from the "Bloody Mist" can hold attachments to their village?" Ichiko said cooly, flipping a page.

Kishi frowned and narrowed her eyes at the faintly condescending tone, but also turned her gaze away, giving the wall a thoughtful glance.

"_Sing to me, Papa. I can't fall asleep..."_

The woman hid a smile, thankful that her face was out of sights so that her young companion couldn't see the affection in her eyes.

"No," Kishi said. "Not really."

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A/N: This is only Part One to the story. I plan on having a Part Two with Ichiko, so be on the look out!


	2. Ichiko's POV

A/N: Here's Part Two. Enjoy. (There will also be an Epilogue to this portion, so you can look for that as well...)

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**Lullaby (Ichiko's POV)**

Summary: _"You'll never know how much I love you..." [Gender Bender Naruto Universe]_

Words: 1,207

Characters: Ichiko (FemItachi), Kishi (FemKisame), Sakaye (FemSasuke), Masahiro (Male Mikoto), Fusako (FemFugaku)

Warning: Same as I said last chapter.

Pairings: None.

Disclaimer: You already saw it...

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**Aneki: **Polite form of Older Sister (Female equivalent of Aniki)

**Imoto:** Little Sister (Female equivalent of Otouto)

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Ichiko stared quietly at her novel as her new partner sang softly to herself. The dark-haired girl was quickly coming to realize that the woman did this often and, despite her irritation at being unable to concentrate, the ex-leaf nin couldn't help but listen for the blue-skinned kunoichi was actually_ good_...

The Uchiha frowned lightly as the woman paused and she almost gave her partner a curious glance, but Kishi proceeded again in what seemed to be a lullaby.

Ichiko instantly stopped pretending to read and instead silently listened to the sorrowful tune. She suppressed the urge to shiver and forced herself to focus intently upon her knees.

After a moment, Kishi finished, eyes shut almost thoughtfully.

"...What is that song?" Ichiko couldn't help but ask. The melody was soft but sad, and brought back far too many memories for her liking...

The woman opened her eyes and fixated her gaze upon the small, dark-haired teen.

The young girl kept her face carefully blank against the ex-mist nin's probing stare. She had not known the woman long enough to allow her such a look into her mind. The shark-like kunoichi would find nothing in her dark eyes. These memories were _hers_ and hers alone.

Unperturbed, Kishi grinned. "It's a lullaby from back in Kiri. I heard it often as a little girl."

Ichiko flinched minutely and prayed the blue woman hadn't noticed. Ripping her gaze from the taller shinobi, she returned her eyes instead to her novel, though she knew she would not read it.

So, it had been a lullaby after all...

Ichiko flipped the page and spoke again, adding a cold inflection to her voice. "So, even rogue nin from the "Bloody Mist" can hold attachments to their village?"

The young teen could feel Kishi's annoyance at being spoken to in such a way and by a child no less – Even turned away as she was, Ichiko found the woman was far too easy to read – but the blue-haired kunoichi said nothing and simply glanced the other way.

"No, not really."

Ichiko was almost certain that the woman was lying and she had to suppress a sigh. Even though the woman's face was not towards her, the Uchiha could easily sense the affection interlaced within the shark-like woman's words.

She lightly gripped the book in her fingers, scanning the words without actually reading them. They were instead registered within her mind and stored elsewhere, leaving her the ability to remember things she couldn't forget...

oxoxo

_Black eyes snapped open and a lithe hand gripped the kunai hidden beneath the pillow and pressed against the futon._

"_Aneki?"_

_The grip relaxed and pale eyelids slid shut over dark orbs tiredly. They reopened again only to observe the frightened 5 year old before them. Taking in the tousled dark hair and teary eyes, they brought a sigh from their owner._

"_Sakaye..." the 10 year old muttered sleepily, pushing herself up. "What's wrong?"_

_The young Uchiha whimpered and gasped softly, rubbing one eye._

"_I can't sleep," she lied with a whisper as she trembled, trying to pretend that it had not been a nightmare that drew her from bed. "Aneki?..."_

_Ichiko understood her sister's unspoken question and, without a word, lifted the blankets in acceptance._

_Relief consumed Sakaye's features as she leapt for the opening, squeezing her eyes and gripping her older sister's waist tightly._

_The Uchiha prodigy grunted softly at the sudden constriction about her middle, but wrapped an arm around her younger sibling, the other reaching up to pull pale, slender digits through tangled black locks._

_The small girl sniffed and burrowed against the elder's chest. Ichiko sighed again and gently coaxed the younger into slumber so that she could also rest._

_After a few minutes, the small girl's breathing evened out and Ichiko relaxed, prepared to return to sleep._

"_Aneki?"_

_The older Uchiha sister bit back a moan as she eyed the wide dark orbs staring at her._

"_Yes... Imouto?" Ichiko mumbled, voice faintly strained._

_Sakaye took no notice of her sister's strange tone and instead shut her eyes with a smile, raven head resting over the elder's heart._

"_Can you sing my lullaby?"_

_The older girl paused for a moment before allowing her gaze to visibly soften._

_Contrary to popular belief, Uchihas were – more often than not – very fussy babies and the younger sibling to the clan heir had been no exception. _

_As an infant, little could be done to quiet the tiny Sakaye. Neither her mother nor her father could do a thing to help her but feed her and wait for her to tire herself out enough to sleep._

_It was during one of these fits of hers that Ichiko had arrived, troubled by her baby sister's unhappy cries. Recalling a song her elder, goggled cousin had sung to her when the Uchiha had still been alive, the 5 year old had attempted the same thing. To her amazement, Sakaye had swiftly quieted and, after a moment or so, fallen asleep._

_From that point on, even as she graduated the Academy and attained the rank of chunin, she would sing the lullaby to Sakaye when she was upset and eventually the younger had come to dub it as hers._

_It was only troubling to know that once she achieved the rank of ANBU, it was unlikely she'd be home to do it as often._

_The clan heir frowned, clutching Sakaye a little tighter as if the action would allow them to keep their time just a little longer..._

_The young girl glanced up at her sister questioningly and Ichiko banished the thought. With a smile, she placed a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead. "Alright."_

_The small Uchiha beamed and replaced her head in its earlier position, eyes falling shut. Ichiko's smile grew a little wider as she took a brief moment to compose herself_

_After a short silence, she finally began to sing in a low, soft voice, the familiar tune falling from her lips._

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."

"_I believe a congratulations is in order," Her father, Masahiro grinned. "Attaining the rank of ANBU and so soon after your ascent to chuin... That's quite an accomplishment indeed."_

"You make me happy, when skies are gray..."

"_A mission?" her father frowned. "But tomorrow is..."_

"_You know how important tomorrow is!" Her mother, Fusako interjected. "Do you know your position?"_

"You'll never know, Dear..."

"_Ichiko, if you are found guilty for this, then you can and will be held in contempt," the Uchiha warned as the other two looked on with suspicion and distrust._

"How much I love you..."

"_Captain, arrest her!"_

"_Ichiko, what will you do?"_

"_Captain, please!"_

"_**Ichiko.**__"_

"_**Captain!**__"_

"_**ANEKI, STOP IT!**__"_

"Please don't take..."

"_Aneki!" Sakaye cried, tears collecting in her eyes. "Auntie, Mother, Father, Everyone! They're-! Someone's-!"_

_A kunai cut through the air and stopped her words short._

"My sunshine..."

"_A-Aneki?" Shimmery black orbs. "...__**Why**__?"_

". . . **Away**. . ."

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A/N: Remember, I plan on posting an epilogue to Ichiko's portion...


	3. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Words: 214

Characters: Ichiko (FemItachi), Kishi (FemKisame)

Warnings: None

Pairings: None

Disclaimer: You've already seen it...

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". . .'chiko?"

The eldest Uchiha didn't move or give any indication that she had heard her partner. She simply remained as she was, staring blankly at the sky and ignoring the rain that pounded around her.

_"The other night, Dear, as I lay sleeping..."_

Hey eyes slid shut, her lips quivering ever so slightly with the urge to form the words.

_"I dreamt I held you..."_

"You're going to get sick if you stay out there," Kishi chided, though there was an underlying concern to her words.

_"Within my arms..."_

Ichiko kept her silence, listening instead to a melody only she could hear.

_"When I awoke, Dear..."_

Kishi blinked and narrowed her eyes slightly, brows furrowing as if she were puzzled. "You know, 'chiko..."

_"I was mistaken..."_

"If I didn't know any better..."

_"So, I hung..."_

"I'd think you were actually..."

_"My head..."_

"...**crying.**"

.

.

.

_". . . and **cried**. . ."_

_.  
_

_End._

_

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Note: Yes, I am well aware that Kisame calls Itachi by the title "Itachi-san". Things are slightly different in my Gender Bender Universe. Against my will, characters with their newly found gender alter their personalities and behaviors a bit sometimes. This being an AU, I don't think it's too unreasonable for Kishi to call Ichiko by the nickname 'chiko instead of "Ichiko-san." For those who are a stickler about this, if it makes you feel any better, on mission times and when facing a new enemy, Kishi calls her "Ichiko-san." Why she does this, I'm still not sure myself, but it's what Kishi decided one day and I was unable to do a thing. ^.^; Lol. It's the curse of being an author...


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